Wayne State University decertified a longtime student organization on its campus for requiring its leadership to agree to a statement of beliefs, a new lawsuit alleges.

The suit, filed Tuesday in federal court, alleges Wayne State stripped the university's chapter of InterVarsity of official student organization status illegally.

“Asking religious leaders to practice what they preach isn’t discrimination, it’s integrity,” Lori Windham, senior legal counsel at Becket, a Washington, D.C.-based law firm that focuses on religious freedom and is representing InterVarsity, said in a news release. “Targeting one Christian group that’s served the campus for over 75 years, while giving itself and dozens of larger groups a pass, is truly discriminatory.”

The university had not seen the lawsuit until the Free Press showed officials a copy and it is currently reviewing it. Late Wednesday afternoon, Wayne State provided a statement saying it stood by its decision.

"The university is obliged and committed to protecting the constitutional and religious rights of everyone on our campus," Wayne State's statement said. "Attaining official student organization status is a privilege rather than a right, and is conditional on compliance with our policy of nondiscrimination and equal opportunity.

"We have taken every step possible to minimize the impact of the decertification on the group, and we approached InterVarsity last December with an offer to work on a resolution to this matter. Our offer still stands. Any such solution will be guided by our desire to reinstate the group’s organization status while adhering to our nondiscrimination policy."

The issue started in 2017, when Wayne State started a new online registration system for student organizations. InterVarsity, which has been around for decades at Wayne State, filled out the form and uploaded the group's constitution.

"The constitution makes clear that InterVarsity welcomes all students, regardless of religious beliefs, as members, but asks that InterVarsity’s student leadership embrace the organization’s religious mission," the lawsuit says. "This is a matter of basic institutional integrity. To remain in existence and to carry out its mission — to be the “InterVarsity Christian Fellowship” — InterVarsity must have leaders who themselves embrace and follow InterVarsity’s mission. InterVarsity’s Bible studies, prayers, worship, and religious service would be hollow, inauthentic, and unlikely to endure if it did not require its leaders to share its basic organizational mission and guiding purpose."

In early October 2017, the chapter's leadership was informed that its recognition was being stripped because "the constitution’s requirement that leaders share the chapter’s faith was inconsistent with the school’s nondiscrimination code.

"Since then, InterVarsity has been unable to reserve free meeting rooms, host free tables for interested students, appear on the website where students may go to learn more about student organizations, apply for funding available to recognized student groups, or receive any other benefits granted to other recognized student groups," the lawsuit says.

InterVarsity has continued to meet on campus, but must rent a room for $100 each time it meets, the lawsuit said.

Members of the national organization are worried WSU's actions might lead to other chapters being stripped of recognition.

"Since InterVarsity has been derecognized, and its constitution is identical in relevant respects to the constitutions used at Michigan State University, the University of Michigan, and other state university campuses, InterVarsity USA fears that other chapters will be derecognized as well, particularly if WSU attempts to justify its actions on the basis of state law," the organization states in the lawsuit.